Fans are still counting down the days untilGrand Theft Auto 6finally releases, with the recent delay for the project being felt across the industry. Despite this disappointing news, Rockstar made sure to sweeten things with therelease ofGTA 6’s second trailer, with this surprising drop coming alongside a wave of revealed information on the game’s official website, which came in the way of things like character profiles, new screenshots, and location breakdowns.
This second trailer forGrand Theft Auto 6was subject to the same virality and dissection as its first, with the more recent trailer placing a large focus on one of the game’s two protagonists, Jason, to contrast with the focus on Lucia within the original trailer. Alongside this further dive into the character of Jason, the second trailer did well to showcase the relationship between the two protagonists, as well as hint towards some of the key game mechanics that will likely appear throughoutGTA 6. For example, the unique relationship between Jason and Lucia will make their shared homes more important from a gameplay and narrative perspective compared to what fans have seen before, and a proper home customization mechanic only seems right for this dynamic.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is in a Prime Position to Take Home Customization to the Next Level
The concept of home customization might not be the first thing that players associate withGrand Theft Auto, but it is an element of the franchise that has only grown in detail with each release, with the idea of buying increasingly lavish homes being a great way to visualize a character’s rise through the criminal underworld. While 2013’sGrand Theft Auto 5did feature a small range of single-player safehouses,GTA Onlinereally pushed the concept of customizationwith its huge range of abodes that are available to the player.
Aside from coming at a range of price points, players can even renovate certain apartments inGrand Theft Auto Onlineto add a level of internal customization, setting a clear precedent thatGrand Theft Auto 6will need to maintain and even exceed. Thesingleplayer ofGTA 6is an obvious point of potential improvementcompared to the customization options ofGrand Theft Auto 5’s singleplayer, and the upcoming game’s bold step back to two protagonists could lean directly into these improvements.
The romantic relationship between Jason and Luciaoffers a protagonist dynamic that has never been seen inGrand Theft Autobefore, with the most recent trailer forGTA 6going out of its way to show the shared living situation between the two figures. While Jason and Lucia will both be tied up in the same overall plot forGTA 6, it seems likely that each protagonist will have their own lengthy list of unique content and story arcs, making their shared apartments unique hubs for interaction.
The Potential Importance of GTA 6’s Homes Necessitates Increased Customization
This would give the singleplayer apartments ofGrand Theft Auto 6a similar narrative purpose toRed Dead Redemption 2’s camps, being a logical way for the game’s major characters to interact in a more relaxed setting, while offering up unique interactions, missions, and dialogue that might otherwise be missable. An increased level of narrative and gameplay importance for Jason and Lucia’s homes should then be echoed through customization, with players having the opportunity to spend their ill-gotten gains on things like furniture, electronics, and decoration, with certain changes opening up unique interactions.
RDR2features five distinct camps throughout its narrative, with each unique camp reflecting the overall mood of the story at that given point, with this narrative mechanic potentially being used in a similar way forGTA 6’s homes.
A full customization system akin toThe Simswould probably clash with things like cutscenes, though players should, at the very least, be given the opportunity to customize the overall style of each room for a given apartment. Given themost recent trailer forGrand Theft Auto 6, it seems as if Rockstar is really leaning into the importance of homes within the relationship and overall interaction between Jason and Lucia, giving the studio the perfect inspiration to finally take the franchise’s customization options to the next level.
